Clay mineralogy and lithogeochemistry of lutites from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Member, Araripe Basin, NE Brazil: Implications for paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic and provenance reconstructions

The Aptian Crato Member of the Araripe Basin is a 50-m-thick succession of laminated limestones alternated with siliciclastic rocks. This unit has been receiving attention worldwide mainly because it is one of the most famous fossil Konservat-Lagerstätten, where were identified well-preserved paleofauna and paleoflora. Clay mineralogy and lithogeochemical data have been widely used in paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic and provenance...